


Despairingly Hopeful

by Et_Gemitus_Mortis



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Another Episode
Genre: F/F, Mentions of other characters - Freeform, Minor Original Character, Slow Build, Slow Burn, prepare yourselves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2017-07-25
Packaged: 2018-12-06 18:18:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11606256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Et_Gemitus_Mortis/pseuds/Et_Gemitus_Mortis
Summary: A recount of the tale of Komaru Naegi and Toko Fukawa in Danganronpa: Ultra Despair Girls. This time with more depth, more turns, and more twists. Sticks to the original plot thoroughly but with added despair-inducing encounters and hopeful blessings.





	Despairingly Hopeful

It was supposed to be an easy mission.

Fifteen missing persons; fourteen, who were means of motive when the Killing School Life had begun, and one, who had been able to escape it all… If only temporarily.

Byakuya Togami should have suspected that it was all _too_ easy.

A simple ploy from the beginning, and yet, here he was lamenting the fact that he _should have_ seen such a move coming.

The Remnants of Despair were still out there. Even in the wake of Junko Enoshima’s death, they still decided to wreak havoc wherever they could.

Towa City was no exception.

It was a beacon turned into a nightmare. Overrun by Monokumas and the Massacre had begun. The complication had only begun once he had saved Naegi’s younger sister. Vermin, all of them, simpleminded robots set out to kill any living person in its path it seemed. That simple and naïve girl had been placed into a trap, one that her brother _couldn’t_ have resisted.

So, he’d become the errand boy with _his_ focus solely on his sister. It was a task far beneath him, yet they were on the clock with the Neo World Program, and it was left to him to be the hero. If that foolish girl hadn’t got in his way, he was sure that everything would have gone by more smoothly. Only he remained from the task force that had accompanied him from Naegi’s building, the Monokumas had taken them apart with ease. The fools…

It was now up to him to free the final captive and _hope_ they could both get to a Future Foundation helicopter before the riots became too widespread.

He shifted and pivoted, throwing his weight to his left as he ran down another corridor. Urgency was needed, his eyes searched for the correct number.

Their final captive was one he had only begun to remember, as well as the others who had survived the Killing School Life. Thanks to the Future Foundation’s technology, they’d had their memories returned. They had all wondered who the seventeenth student in their class had been. Always appearing in the photos but never one explanation for their presence. Even Junko Enoshima had spoken of them, told them how despairing it must have felt to not know the fate of someone they had called a friend.

They’d thrown around questions and thoughts and speculation about it between themselves. Did they die before being locked in? Had the violent crimes that had spread across the world take them? It had been a time where those of Talent had been targeted, threatened. They had eventually conceded that it must have been true… That was until the intel had come in about the captives within Towa City.

His shoulder pressed against the wall, he grimaced at the sight of a few Monokumas. He must be getting close if they were here. Those robots had been after Naegi’s sister. So, had the Future Foundation been lured here to take a shot at them? Wipe out the captives and a part of the fourteenth branch? Were the Remnants so desperate to gain some ground and reignite despair throughout the world? 

His eyes narrowed, Byakuya focused upon the number of the door and sighed. It would be. Yet the question remained… Why hadn’t the Monokumas attacked? There was no shouting within, nothing that gave a sign of life within that room. Did they only respond to the sight and sounds of life? He stepped out and took aim with the hacking gun. One blast, another followed, and another. It was surprisingly easy how the gun worked on them. Never tested, it was a wonder that it had worked at all.

Carefully, he avoided the remains of those pests and checked the door.

Locked, which he expected. He had been fortunate that the girl had managed to get out on her own. _Damn_. If one of the others had just survived… He wouldn’t be put in such a position. 

However, this _was_ a friend. It was simply if he would find anyone _still_ _alive_ on the inside. With aimed kicks, the door begun to shudder and crack around the lock. There was still no response to his actions and he began to wonder if it was wise to continue further. A sensible person would have said something, wouldn’t they? But when had _they_ ever been normal...? It was befitting of their title at the time.

It didn’t fall right in his memories. They smiled, they were outgoing, they acted like any other simpleton until something would set them off.

The voice in the back of his head came close to sounding like— _tasting like_ —despair. Again, he lashed out at the door, satisfied when it broke from the force. It took only but a moment to take in the drastic change of the room compared to the others he had seen. Others had a personal touch or were clean, devoid of any signs of life because the other captives had been only that… _Captives_. This was **beyond** what he had expected to find.

Carved, like it had been worn down, into the walls as far as he could see were apologies. _I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry_ … Taking slow steps in, he scanned for everything and anything. It only expanded from there. Mentions of names of classmates. _Hifumi, Leon, Mondo, Chihiro_. Writings of endless, forgotten regrets. Ones that would have never reached them. His lips pursed together, eyes sharpened upon a large section as he moved in further. If he remembered correctly…

He didn’t balk at the scene, brows only furrowing. Part of him wanted to dismiss it but, rationally, why could he set that aside? Old and dried blood, scratched into the surface of the wall beneath a mounted television. Dents and holes from where he could only assume fists had made contact. In rage, in sorrow? The platitudes continued except they mentioned one name alone: _Celeste_. Deranged, almost, as it carried down before it seemed to dissolve into mere scratches and more blood.

Had they been forced to watch the Killing School Life while they’d been trapped here? The television wasn’t broken. Yet he could concede that if _She_ had wanted to make their life a living hell, she would have found a way to keep the television from breaking… He turned his attention to the table, food was half eaten, or even just messed with and it wasn’t molding. Spurred by sudden movement, he turned on his heel and levied his hacking gun towards the second room.

It wasn’t a sight he was used to, yet perhaps he should have expected it due to the waning feeling of sanity within the apartment.

The walls weren’t untouched either. More writings carved into curling wallpaper and damaged wood. Names, again, and violent proclamations. _I’ll kill her! Smother her, burn her, pull her apart!_ More noticeably, it was _her_ that came up. Byakuya followed the darkness of the room, trailed a fallen water bottle to the bed, and finally the figure curled up on it. A familiar means of seeing them, yet not in such a state, the way they had pulled at the hood over their face. 

It had _always_ been their way of hiding whether it had been shame, embarrassment, or another.

He cleared his throat, “ Are you done shaking there? We only have a short amount of time to get out of here. “ It seemed to startle them, for purple eyes stared back at him from under the hood. 

“ To… Togami? “

Strange, how it was to hear them speak again.

**Author's Note:**

> I've recently fallen back in love with Danganronpa. It was a sudden surprise for me because I had just on a whim decided to replay the games and watch the anime series since I'd been rather bored this summer. Having nothing to do, my imagination really took over and so was borne the idea of this fic! I wanted to give a new spin and add some more life to Ultra Despair Girls, it's utterly my favorite of the series, but I absolutely adore Toko and Komaru. Honestly, they're quite an amusing couple, one that'd definitely have a rocky beginning but are wonderful to think about and imagine all at the same time.
> 
> So, I know, I'm terrible with having no meat to this bone yet but I wanted to go ahead and start getting this out there. Plus, I didn't want to start right off the bat with Komaru or Toko due to working in those new despair-inducing encounters and hope-giving blessings. But I'll let you know, the true beginning to this story isn't so far off! As I write this, half of the first chapter is already written.
> 
> On that note, though, I do hope to see you again.


End file.
